Joel Palencia
Joel Dacut Wong Palencia, better known as Joel Palencia, is a Filipino television host, dancer, model, and actor. He is a member of Eat Bulaga!'s all-male resident dance group That's My Bae. ''He has been a Dabarkads since 2015. Joel joined ''That's My Bae: "Twerk It Dance Contest" ''as a contestant on 14 July 2015. He became one of the seven grand finalists of the competition, but lost against Kenneth Medrano. The seven grand finalists continued to regularly appear and perform together on ''Eat Bulaga!, appearing on segments such as ATM with the Baes ''and Hotline Bae. During their time as resident dancers on ''Eat Bulaga!, the seven grand finalists gradually became an actual dance group which became known as That's My Bae. Joel was 23 years old at the time he joined the noontime show. From his early days as a kontesero, Joel has earned a rightful spot as one of the country's ultimate baes. While he has been banned from joining pageants in his hometown and its surrounding areas, Joel has nevertheless succeeded to infiltrate and become part of every Filipino's noontime habit across the globe. Early life Joel Dacut Wong Palencia was born on 7 March 1992 in Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines to Alberto Palencia Jr. and Mercy Dacut Wong. He is the second oldest of five children. His siblings are sisters Arianne, Andrea, and Micah and brother Jemuel Jared. In 2010, Joel graduated from Mayamot National High School in Antipolo, Rizal. He then finished his Tourism Management degree at the Antipolo campus of Our Lady of Fatima University. After college, he worked as a call center agent at Teleperformance Philippines. According to an October 2016 interview in Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, Joel claims that he was bullied in school while growing up because he was dark and skinny. He credits his newfound self-confidence to an ex-girlfriend who inspired him to become his better self as well as join pageants. Prior to Eat Bulaga! A bae in the making Growing up, Joel aspired to be a singer. While Joel only joined one barangay amateur singing contest, he was given several opportunities to compete while working for a call center agency. He represented his account in company singing contests as part of the agency's employee engagement program, winning several times. He also became a member of his call center's dance group called IBX. After leaving the call center company, Joel attempted to join pageants due to his desire to try modeling. In May 2014, Joel competed in the annual Lakan at Lakambini ng Cupang pageant held in his hometown of Brgy. Cupang, Antipolo. Joel represented his sitio and victoriously claimed the title of Lakan ng Cupang at the end of the pageant. After his victory in the local pageant, Joel went on to represent his barangay in the citywide male pageant Ginoong Antipolo 2015. In addition to receiving the People's Choice Award, Joel won the pageant and claimed the rown. His victory meant that he could no longer join any pageants around Antipolo. As a result, his handlers made him compete in other cities in and around Metro Manila, such as Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, and Makati. He won up to eight titles from different cities as the grand winner, which includes Mr. Pogi ng Mandaluyong 2015, Gandang Lalaki ng Malabon 2015, and Mr. Guapito 2015. From local pageantry to national TV It came to a point that he was getting banned from joining pageants in other cities. His Facebook supporters then suggested to try joining contests on television. Fortunately, Eat Bulaga! ''recently premiered ''That's My Bae: "Twerk It" Dance Contest, a new segment based on the viral "Twerk It Like Miley" Dubsmash videos which featured good-looking men with dancing skills. At the time, Joel was not well aware of the segment. He started watching the segment during its third day when Miggy Tolentino was performing. He immediately auditioned the following Saturday and passed the screening. As an Eat Bulaga! ''Dabarkads '''As a contestant' On 14 July 2015, Joel first appeared on national television as a contestant of That's My Bae: "Twerk It" Dance Contest. As part of the contest, the contestants danced to the 2014 hit single "Twerk It Like Miley" by Brandon Beal while showcasing their talent and looks. Joel was 23 years old at the time he joined the noontime show. He was pitted against Mister United Continents Philippines 2015 Ray Cataluna III. Their dance battle ended in a tie, the very first in the daily competition. After a series of elimination rounds, Joel became one of the seven grand finalists. The seven grand finalists were Gab Bayan, Kim Last, Kenneth Medrano, Joel Palencia, Tommy Peñaflor, Jon Timmons, and Miggy Tolentino. The grand finals of the dance contest was held on 29 August 2015 where Kenneth Medrano was declared as the grand winner of the competition. Formation of That's My Bae Subsequently, Joel and the six other grand finalists made regular appearances on Eat Bulaga! as a dance group. Originally, they were simply referred to as That's My Bae ''grand finalists. Eventually, the group became officially known as That's My Bae. To further give them exposure, That's My Bae was given its own segment entitled ''ATM with the Baes. At this point, they were considered as resident dance group of the noontime show. The dance crew was still composed of seven people until the quiet departure of Gab Bayan in December 2015. Since then, That's My Bae has been a six-member group. The members of That's My Bae appeared began appearing in other segments of Eat Bulaga!, including Hotline Bae, Dancing in Tandem, and Kalyeserye. Soon, each of them was included in the annual Eat Bulaga's Lenten Special. Category:Dabarkads Category:Resident Dancers